The present invention relates to a copying apparatus capable of copying also additional information such as a date or a number indicated by an display means when copying document information.
The present invention further relates to a copying apparatus equipped with a sorter and capable of copying simultaneously both an additional information such as a number or the like and a document information.
There have been proposals wherein a date (year, month and day or hour) and others are copied on a copy (e.g. Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection No. 39124/1978). On the conventional apparatus, however, all the apparatus can do is to cause an display means to indicate a date or an inputted number and to copy them, which means that an operator should always input the following number for changing the number to be copied on a copy. Therefore, (A) when preparing materials (paginated) for the meeting containing a plurality of documents and others in desired number of copies, it has been necessary to take either one of (1) making copies after the input of consecutive numbers (page numbers) performed by an operator for each document. (2) eliminating consecutive numbers entered in the document after entering consecutive numbers for each document and making copies, or, (3) making copies without entering consecutive numbers and then entering consecutive numbers in the copies. Or, (B) when distributing copies to many locations, it has been necessary to take either one of (1) inputting a code number or the like representing each location for each copying operation, or (2) entering code numbers in copies.
In the case of paginating job in (A), however, the method of (3) requires extremely large amount of labor and even (1) and (2) methods require considerable amount of labor, which have been problems. In the case of (B), on the other hand, both (1) and (2) methods require the number-changing work for each copying, which has been a problem.
On the other hand, when the copies from plural documents are distributed to plural locations, if the copies for each location have a different number copied thereon, the copies having the same number have only to be distributed to a prescribed location, which reduces distribution failures. It is more convenient especially when a copying apparatus is equipped with a sorter (a copying apparatus having either a built-in sorter or a sorter connected to the copying apparatus), because each bin receives a round sum of copies for each location. On the conventional copying apparatus equipped with a sorter, however, a date or an inputted number is indicated by an indicating means and is only copied. In order to change the number to be copied on a copy, therefore, an operator has been requested to be sure to input a new number, Therefore, all it can do is only to deliver to each bin the copies having the same additional information recorded thereon, which means that the copying which meets an aforesaid object has been impossible.